Newbie Here!

[Ace0fSpade5]

Hey everyone whats up?! First i'd like to say that i love this site. Lots of cool stuff. I figured what better place to pick brains other than here. Here are some of my questions hopefully someone or many could help me out. I just recently became interested in XCM. I'm talking about maybe a month or two. I've been on youtube, this website, other websites, bought some dvds, and some cards. I just dont know where to start. I think i dove in a little too deep with some of the stuff i bought, but i'll def use it eventually.

What are some of the beginner moves i should be learning right off the bat? I've learnd some false cuts, a few simple flourishes, and have been working on my fanning. I just think i'm going about it the wrong way.

Any tips, tricks, ideas for a beginner here to help me get on my way. I mean i look at some of your videos and am just blown away, and then i see something i like so i search for a tutorial on it, but i dont think thats the right thing to do.

Sorry if i'm rambling, just looking for some good information on where to start. If anyone is willing to help i'd greatly appreciate it!

Thanks for reading, and i look forward to being part of the community here!!

-Mike

 

[aJohnson]

First of all, welcome

Second, don't push yourself to fast, get used to the basics because when you move onto more complex things, you'll find your messing up because of the basic things.

 

[Dylan P.]

For basic sleight of hand training you could try De'vo's dvd's over at Ellusionist.

 

[aJohnson]

I'd also recommend

CARD MANIPULATION 101 v1
by dan sperry

Enjoy.

 

[Justin.Morris]

I still stand by Born to Perform by Pearlman.

 

[Ace0fSpade5]

I'll look into those things. Thanks for the feedback. Hopefully i can pick up the basics pretty quick.

 

[Ace0fSpade5]

Where do you find this Born to Perform book or dvd. Not sure which it is.

 

[RyanOchs]

Where do you find this Born to Perform book or dvd. Not sure which it is.

It can be found at http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=618.

By the way, you should defiantly pick this up, it really helped me when i was a beginner.

 

[CalvinTan]

Always have a deck in your hands when you're just hanging out or watching TV. You need the muscles in your hand and fingers to be familiar with cards. This will take time, but eventually, your fingers will know how the cards will react and you'll get better control. Once this happens, your learning curve will be a lot quicker.

You are right, in that you should go out and get the material from the original source. A lot of stuff posted online is missing subtle information that will help you improve your XCM. Buying it from the original creator will benefit you in the long run.

-Calvin

 

[SamRochon]

I need to recommend Born to Perform as well. It'll show you so many good tricks, that become easy to do with just a bit of practice. Honestly, many tricks I still do regularly are on that DVD, IMO it is the place to start.

 

[praetoritevong]

Hey man, welcome to the forums!

First off, for Flourishing/XCM:

The best places to start are Encyclopedia of Playing Card Flourishes, or failing that, XB. There've been a ton of topics asking for help, so try a forum search to see if something someone else asked could help also.

As far as general tips for magic goes... It's really tempting to look at all the latest and greatest magic, and there really are wonderful things coming out all the time. But at the same time, never lose sight of the classics - the old, established books mainly that teach far more than a lot of new material ever could. Don't ever lose sight of guys like Vernon, Marlo, etc., to name but two - the work that these guys did, will improve your magic dramatically - they weren't the best ever for no reason. Also, as you develop in magic, don't forget that it's a performing art, so obviously, performing for people, and also theory about performing, is a really important part of becoming a better magician - there's much more to magic than just the secret.

Hope you enjoy your time here and your magic.